Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 922 smaller islands in Oceania, of which only less than one fifth is inhabited, this archipelago provides endless travel opportunities including the fabulous snorkeling, freediving, scuba diving, spearfishing...
Solomon Islands lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres. Solomon Islands are one of the most peaceful and beautiful areas of the Pacific, also have some of the most pristine dive sites in the world. Solomon Islands is the destination for the real diving fan looking for a change of scenery, completely off the beaten track.
The waters surrounding Solomon Islands are filled with innumerable unspoiled hard and soft corals because of the remote location and the limited number of divers. Indulge yourself exclusively in diving with pilot whales, various kinds of sharks (include the beloved hammerheads), mantas, dolphins and huge shoals of fish, right down to the macro wonders such as pygmy sea horses, nudibranchs and ghost pipefish. Divers also will find WWII wrecks, caverns, wide-angle reefs and large sea fans.
Solomon Islands enjoys a year-round tropical climate moderated by the sea air. There is no monsoon season with extensive periods of heavy rainfall, but rain can be expected at any time, although it usually blows over fairly quickly. Diving is fairly easy with not much current, the water temperature will be in the 27ºC - 30ºC year-round, the visibility range from 25m to 40m.
Diving in Solomon Islands can be year round, however, between mid January to early March period is slightly wetter, but diving is still good then. Of course any other time can be even better!
Liveaboard Diving Regions :
We offer different possibilities in terms of itineraries around the Solomon Islands. There are 5 main places for liveaboard diving : The Florida Islands, The Russell Islands, The Mborukua Island, The Marovo Lagoon, and the Western Province.
The Florida Islands
The Florida Islands is also known as the Nggela Island, lie immediately north of Guadalcanal, there are many excellent dive sites, and there are some world-class sunken WWII vessels lying close to the shore. One of the most famous dive site is "Twin Tunnels", divers will be greeted by a mass of fish that swarm around the reef including lots of pelagic action: Manta rays, Sharks, dog tooth tuna, giant trevally, and barracuda. There are also lots of Sea fans with pygmy seahorses, barrel sponges full of hairy squat lobsters, there are cuttlefish, octopus, eels, and literally hundreds of species of fish and corals.
The Russell Islands
It lies between Honiara and Western Province. The highlight will be the underwater caves there (not scary enclosed caves, but shallow caves), the coral-covered walls and exceptional visibility. Sharks, manta rays and even the occasional saltwater crocodile may be encountered.
The Mborukua Island
It also known as the Mary Island, it is notable for an underwater point that commonly hosts massive schools of barracuda and jacks, big bumphead parrotfish, plentiful reef sharks are commonly seen here and you may see an occasional napoleon wrasse or tuna. This is the main place for "big stuff".
The Marovo Lagoon
Located on the east side of New Georgia Island, Marovo Lagoon is the world's biggest saltwater lagoon and the world's finest double-barrier lagoon and as well as a World Heritage Site. Well known by its crazy reef shark action, big schools of friendly spadefish, barracuda, and a beautiful reef covered in hard and soft corals. Also have great opportunity to dive WWII wrecks and outstanding reefs.
The Western Province
The provincial captitol, Gizo, is roughly a 90 minute flight from Honiara, and offers a good mix of healthy reefs, wrecks, caverns and diverse marine life. Like the rest of the Solomons, this region is steeped in WWII history, including the island where John F. Kennedy and crew met a Japanese torpedo aboard PT-109.
